Harry Potter: Prince of Gryffindor
by stalkerace
Summary: Al is dead and Harry and Hermione Potter are forced to take the lead in the fight against a secretive Dumbledore. Sequel to Duke of Gryffindor
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **I do not own Harry Potter or any of its fruits whether natural or artificial

**A/N2: **Thanks to rockhead2233 for taking some time to read through the draft.

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><p>HARRY POTTER: PRINCE OF GRYFFINDOR<p>

**ONE**

**Aboard **_**HMS Vanquisher**_

**Potter Island, British Indian Ocean Territory**

The mighty hull of the two hundred forty-eight meter warship cut through the salty waters surrounding the island as her steam turbines croaked to a stop.

The force of the seawater pushed against her hull, bringing her to an almost complete stop at the same moment that the skipper of the battleship ordered her anchors dropped. Deck hands rushed to obey the order of their captain and within moments, the sound of the cast-iron anchor of the battleship hitting the surface of the water before rapidly sinking into the waves was heard.

A black flag hanging in half-mast fluttered as the air around the battleship made its presence known. Like an ominous sign heralding the coming of darker times, this wind carried with it the faintest twinge of despair and hopelessness, but like true sailors, the men and women aboard the battleship did their best to ignore the effects of the wind.

Standing on the bow of the proud battlewagon, fifteen year old Harry James Potter watched in silence as the garrison of the island that belonged to his family since the eighteenth century turned out in full strength in full mourning uniform. As the Potter heir stood at the bow, silent salty tears streaked from both of his deep green eyes, tears that came about as he reflected on the events that had led him to this day.

Hermione Jane Granger-Potter also cried silent tears, as she stood beside her husband and held his hand, offering her unwavering, silent support.

The two faces of one coin, the Lord and Lady Potter shared a soul-bond so powerful that both of them needed very few words in order to know what the other was feeling. In times like these – when what they were feeling was usually the same – this proved to be a boon as neither the Lord nor Lady Gryffindor were in any condition to tell anyone how they felt.

The loud sounds of seven fired rifles cut through the ominous wind. Twice more, seven rifles were fired with their muzzles pointed towards the air as the traditional twenty one gun salute was fired in preparation for the final ceremony that the body of Alvin Charles York, former commander of the Potter Family Guards, would go through.

The sound of a lone bugler playing taps followed the last shots fired by the honor guard as Harry and Hermione both reflected on the events that had led them to this sad event.

Less than a year ago, Harry was attacked by two dementors near his old home in England. Although he was able to drive away the attackers, it was Al York and Remus Lupin – Harry's old defense professor and honorary uncle – who had helped him. It was thanks to their help that the Potter heir was able to learn of the manipulations in his life and had provided him the assistance that he required in order to rise to his current position.

Turning his gaze toward his wife, Harry forced through a smile. Though sad, there was a hint of appreciation in that faint smile as the Potter heir remembered that it was also Al who was invaluable in helping to bring Harry and Hermione together. Hermione's grip on her husband's hand tightened as she, too, turned her gaze to him. No words passed between them, but both knew that the other was thinking about the part that Al had played in getting the two of them together.

The words of the vicar forced Harry and Hermione to turn their gaze away from one another and towards the starboard side of the battleship where the coffin containing the body of Al rested. The flag of the United Kingdom – symbolizing the past service of Al York to Her Majesty's Royal Navy – draped the coffin.

Both Harry and Hermione noticed the throng of people gathered around the coffin. With her eyes hidden by dark shades in order to hide the tears that were cascading down from her eyes, Irina Engels held a bouquet of white roses close to her chest. Stoic, but without a doubt, mourning, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin stood beside the woman who had stood at Al's deathbed. Wearing his old uniform and with a mourning cloth tied by his left arm, Dan Granger stood beside his wife Emma, who was crying buckets of tears. Fred and George Weasley, their smiles gone for the first time since Harry had known them, stood with their father. With their hands held together, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood also wept in silence.

They all watched as four men approached Al's coffin. At some unspoken signal, the four men tipped the wooden platform where the coffin rested toward the sea and the coffin slid from its resting position toward the waters.

Like the anchor that stopped the ship but a few moments ago, the coffin bearing the final, mortal remains of Alvin Charles York slid into the sea as those aboard the mighty battleship watched. As soon as the coffin had slid into the deep waves, Irina dropped the bouquet of white roses that she was carrying at the same spot where the coffin of the man she loved, had sunk into.

Harry tightened his grip on his wife's hands. Unsurprised by this, Hermione returned the gesture and an unspoken message again passed between the Lord and Lady Gryffindor. Those that were responsible for the death of Alvin York would pay dearly.

**Potter Manor**

**Potter Island, British Indian Ocean Territory**

Their hands still held together – though this time, they were holding hands under the table – Harry and Hermione sat at the head of the table used for meetings.

Seated to their right, Hector Boone – Al's replacement – had just finished briefing Harry and Hermione about the status of their forces worldwide.

"The question is, what would the bastard do next," Hermione said as soon as their chief bodyguard had finished his report, she looked at Sirius and Remus – the former had recently begun teaching the newest recruits into their ranks, the latter had recently taken over the position of intelligence chief – and asked, "Do we have any indications that he had really planned on breaking his army during that encounter, or did we force his hand?"

Remus looked at the young girl who had once been his most brilliant student. As he did so, he considered the question that she had asked and was forced to concede that it was a valid concern. If Albus Dumbledore had planned for his military force to break their cover during that encounter, then chances were that his entire military force is already ready to move out. Intelligence estimates that should that have been the case, an alliance with the mundane government might be the only solution.

If, on the other hand, Dumbledore did not plan for his army to break their cover during that encounter, then chances were, his entire military force was not yet ready to move. Should that be the case, then there would be enough room to still wiggle around and possibly secure a small victory that would keep the lid on his military force for at least another few months. Needless to say, these were the ideal circumstance for those who oppose the Old Man.

"Given that most of his manpower is still in Eastern Europe, I am inclined to think that this was not as planned," Remus replied. He paused before he added, "However, we have no information to prove this, just as we have no information to prove otherwise."

"In other words, we are guessing," Dan Granger added his two cents worth. He turned toward his daughter and son-in-law and suggested, "Perhaps it is time to ally with Her Majesty"

"Al had warned us that it might be the only course left to take," Hector admitted with his head bowed. He looked toward Harry and explained the suggestion, "At the most, we can only field one thousand men and women with the most basic of firearms at their disposal, we lack artillery, unless you count on the Vanquisher, and even then, it would not be much help inland, no armor, no aircraft, a small support and logistics group."

Harry nodded, "That is something to consider for some other time, however," he said, he looked toward Remus and asked, "How about his plans, do we know what the bastard is planning?"

Remus shook his head, "Nothing solid in that," he admitted with a hanged head, "We, however, know that he intends to rule the magical world, I guess that the first step would be to make himself ruler in Magical Britain first"

"He was Chief Warlock, so he was the de facto leader of magical Britain," Hermione pointed out, "the question becomes, would he be able to regain his seat?"

"I do not think that regaining the seat would be necessary," Sirius replied, "Our investigations had proven that Cornelius Fudge is an incompetent corrupted bastard who knew nothing, the trust and confidence of the people to the minister had fallen, so I think that the Supreme Obliviator would be able to regain his seat, but why would he need to regain his seat if he simply take it with his army instead?"

"A valid point, one that we have failed to consider," Harry admitted, he looked at his godfather and asked, "How about the Ministry, would they be able to hold, or should we be saying goodbye to them as well?"

Sirius did not even hesitate to shake his head, "No, the Ministry would not be able to hold," he replied. He seemed shaken about his own admission as he added, "There are a few people in the Ministry that we can trust to become good Ministers for Magic, but in the face of what the Supreme Obliviator is doing, I doubt even a hundred Amelia Bones' would be able to do anything."

Harry nodded. He looked at his wife for a few moments before she nodded, and then he turned his attention back toward the others, "Then we can conclude that the Ministry is going to fall, sooner rather than later," he said. He sighed before he asked, "Do we evacuate?"

Nervous fidgeting was the reply of everyone at the table. None of the other four men at the table wanted to answer the question, but after a few moments, Dan told himself that they had better get this over with.

"I would recommend against an evacuation," the former naval dentist said, before his daughter or son-in-law could protest to what even he would agree to be a heartless decision, the dentist added, "I know that we are condemning thousands of people to die, but we do not have the capability to evacuate them in the first place, and even if we did, where should we put them? There is also the very real possibility of spies being introduced into our camp through this method."

Hermione looked ready to argue, but before she could say anything, she was silenced by Harry placing his other hand over hers. She looked at him with a furious expression that the Duke of Gryffindor had come to realize would be the face that she would put up whenever she was ready to launch into a tirade, but as soon as she looked at him, her face mellowed down and she decided to follow whatever her husband decided regarding the situation.

Harry turned toward the four men at the table with them. The Duke of Gryffindor sighed before he nodded and said, "I do not agree with leaving behind innocent people, but I agree with the very valid points that have been put up against the evacuation," he sighed again before he nodded toward his father-in-law and said, "We are agreed then, no evacuation."

The four men nodded, but what surprised Harry was that Hermione did not seem to exhibit any protest against his decision. He looked at her and she merely nodded, though she did so without a smile. It was the only indication that Harry needed in order to know that they would be having a much more serious conversation about this very topic later when they were alone.

"Sirius, how about our allies in the Ministry?" Harry asked.

Sirius considered the question before he replied, "We have several allies and a few more that we can consider sympathetic with our cause," he said, "what were you thinking?"

"Would they be able to help us?" Harry asked, "At the very least, would they be able to provide us with information?"

"I would have to consider that, pup," Sirius admitted, he frowned before he added, "Generally, I think that they would be able to help us, but you also need to consider what would happen should the Supreme Obliviator decided to come down on them. We might lose those avenues for intelligence, worse, we might even lose the men and women we have inside the Ministry."

Harry nodded but did not say anything for a few moments. Silence descended on the meeting until Hermione spoke up, "What about the mundane government?" she asked, "I know that we have not yet come to a concrete solution in regards to them, but they must have sources inside the ministry known only to them, could we ask for intelligence from them?"

"Should we ally with them, that would probably be a given," Hector admitted, "but as we are not yet allied with them…" he let the thought go unfinished.

"I suggest that we begin the process," Hermione said, "it would take some time."

"Agreed," Sirius replied, he looked at his godson and his wife and added, "The mundane prime minister knows me, I can request a meeting and brief him about what has happened, that should be a good start."

"He also knows Al," Hector added in a low voice. All heads turned toward the new chief bodyguard of the Potter Family and watched as the American said, "He sent his condolences," he looked at Sirius, "Should you brief him, I imagine that he would be asking about the death of Al," he shook his head and added, "You know that Al was a noble right?"

Sirius – and everyone else – nodded. Hector continued, "Al is the last of his line, so you can bet that there would be quite an inquiry as to his death," he said, "Her Majesty herself would probably request a briefing."

"Considering that he was killed by Dumbledore, would they take that as justification for war?" Dan asked, "I mean, I don't think she needs to ask Parliament to declare war against what is essentially just another part of her government right?"

"Truthfully, I have no idea," Hector replied.

"In any case," Harry said, he turned to his godfather and continued, "You should go and request that meeting and bring anyone that you think you would need when you brief the PM."

"Got it," Sirius said. The former prisoner stood and then said, "Wish me luck pup," before he turned and left the room.

"What about training?" Remus suddenly asked as soon as the other marauder had left the room, he looked at Harry and Hermione and said, "I know that the two of you require less of it, but the same cannot be said about the others, in particular, the two young ladies who have just joined us."

Harry and Hermione both knew that the marauder was talking about Susan and Hannah. Although neither Harry nor Hermione thought that the two girls would be able to contribute much, it was only fair that they be allowed the same opportunity as the others. Both the Lord and Lady knew that their other friends were going to continue their training in the island, so it should not prove troublesome to add the two young Hufflepuffs to the roster.

Thinking about the two young Hufflepuffs, however, brought about another problem to the table. Hermione turned to Remus and asked, "Do you know how their disappearance is being reported?"

Remus shook his head, "It is not being reported," he replied truthfully, at the shocked expression on the face of the two youngsters, Remus added, "What happened in Hogwarts last week is not common knowledge, we think that it was because the school has been closed to the outside world."

"'closed to the outside world'?" Harry asked, and turned toward Hermione but she shook her head indicating that she had no idea what Remus was talking about, so Harry turned his gaze back toward his former professor and asked outright, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly as it sounds," Remus replied with a rather somber grin, he sighed before he added, "It means that the Headmaster had ordered the wards surrounding the school at full strength, no mail is coming into or leaving the school, and certainly no one is entering or leaving the school."

"And the parents are taking this sitting down?" a shocked Hermione asked, "I would have expected them to be up in arms and marching to the school while demanding answers from anyone they could grab from the school."

Remus again smiled, "What makes you think that that is not what is happening out there right now?" he asked rhetorically. The werewolf added before Hermione could answer his question, "An angry mob is waiting at the borders of Hogsmeade, since the town is considered part of the school, complete with burning brands and pitchforks"

Harry smiled, but as his thoughts formed, the smile on his face disappeared. After a few moments, he asked, "And the bastard has no plans of lowering the wards?"

Remus shook his head, "We think that he would lower the wards when his army is fully prepared," he admitted, "Since we do not know when that would be…" he trailed off, but everyone understood.

Harry nodded. "Anything else?" he asked. The Duke knew that there were a lot of other things that they should be talking about, but at the same time, he knew that those other problems would not come up until a solution – permanent or otherwise – could be thought of. The Duke, therefore, was confident that his advisers would shake their head when he asked that question.

**Harry and Hermione's Room, Potter Manor**

**Potter Island, British Indian Ocean Territory**

Both Harry and Hermione were just about ready to collapse into their bed the moment that they walked into their room.

After the meeting with their closest advisors, the couple had decided to join some of the men in a firearms proficiency test being conducted in the barracks. Again proving that she was a better shooter than her husband, Hermione bagged first place in the impromptu tournament that sprung up when news of their arrival reached the rank and file.

In the celebration that followed, Harry and Hermione just about depleted the rest of their energy as they celebrated with people who were desperately clinging at anything that would push the memory of the death of their former commander away from the forefront of their minds.

It took some time, but Harry and Hermione were finally able to convince Hermione's father to let them sleep together. Although they were already married, – and Dan Granger had once made a deal with his daughter about sleeping with Harry – her parents were always seeking ways to prevent them from sharing a bed.

Harry flipped the switch to the lights in the room open the moment that he and his wife entered the room. The couple decided to continue their conversation in bed so they were ready to jump into their king-size mattress the first moment that they entered the room. When they entered, however, both felt the presence of a foreign energy source in the room and both adopted a battle ready stance.

Although assured of the security on the island, neither was willing to take the risk, especially when the safety of their spouse was on the line.

A few moments later, both Harry and Hermione relaxed as they realized that, not only had they not been taught how to feel for the magic and identify said magic, but also that they recognized the magic that was being projected around their room. What was more mysterious, however, was the fact that the owner of this magical signature was supposedly buried earlier this morning.

Extending his mage sight, Harry was easily able to trace the source of the Al's magical signature and found it on the end table at the right side of their bed. Harry motioned for Hermione to cover him while he drew his wand and crept towards the end table. Although the magical signature belonged to Al, Harry was not about to take chances.

A surprised Harry found the source of the magic. Lying on the table with the flap pointed towards him was a white envelope with his and Hermione's name written on it. Harry silently levitated the envelope as Hermione cast a scanning charm on the paper. When the charm came back negative, Harry opened the white envelope to find a letter and a gold keychain with an iron key inside.

"What do you think?" Harry asked as he showed his wife the contents of the envelope.

Hermione frowned, and Harry smiled as he realized that the reason that his wife was frowning was because she was not sure what to think and what to answer. The smile came as the Duke considered that no matter how much things had changed, the more things stayed the same.

"Read the letter already would you," Hermione said when she realized that her husband was staring at her. More to the point, she could hear exactly what he was thinking and she did not appreciate it.

Harry raised both of his hands in mock surrender but he quickly placed them down when he saw that the frown on his wife's face was deepening. With a faint smile, he gently unfolded the letter inside the white envelope and began to read.

_Dear Harry and Hermione,_

_By the time that you read this, I am going to bet that not only am I already dead, I am also probably buried already. _

_I know, I am cheating since the charm on this letter would only activate the moment that my mortal body was resting on the depths of the oceans, so I know exactly that I was right._

_In any case, no, this is not a sort of final will and testament, and no, I do not have any final instructions in this letter. This letter is just a reminder to the Lady Ravenclaw that my notes are already waiting for her in the family library. Hermione, I think that you would find them interesting._

_That's it._

_Alvin Charles York_

Hermione frowned as she looked at her husband, "Well, at least we know now that he was not kidding when he told us that he'd leave us everything that he had ever learned," she said. Her frustration at not being able to locate those same notes that Al had promised her for the last week had nearly caused her to destroy the library, but because she was Hermione, she managed to refrain from doing so by reminding herself that there were books in the library. Strangely – or probably not – that was all that was needed to control her temper.

"Something interesting?" Harry asked rhetorically as he read the letter again. He looked at Hermione and asked, "Do you have any idea what he is talking about?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know if I have not even read any of it?" a cross Hermione asked as she crossed her arms over her chest. Realizing how she was speaking to her husband, she managed to control her temper and then added in a much more sedate tone, "I can't wait to read them though."

"Love, you cannot wait to read anything," Harry said as the both of them descended into laughter.

**Ministry of Magic Atrium, **

**London, England, United Kingdom**

Eric the security guard was bored out of his mind and this was obvious as the ministry security guard covered his mouth with his palm as he yawned.

The security guard glanced towards the massive magical clock that was mounted near his work station and noted that there was still twenty more minutes before his shift ended and though he was tempted to leave early – there appeared to be no visitors to the Ministry this morning – he was professional enough to remain at his post even when faced with such extreme boredom.

The next moment, however, he was blown out of his boredom – and his workstation. The floo fireplaces commonly utilized by the workers in the Ministry suddenly flared, signaling imminent arrival of wizards and witches. The most unusual thing about this, however, was the fact that the fireplaces suddenly began ejecting people in strange uniforms that Eric had never seen before at the exact same time.

"Hey…," the security guard began, but before he could push another word out of his mouth, he found himself flying in an arc. He briefly wondered how he was able to do that before he wondered no more.

The body of the security guard landed on the waters of the Fountain of Magical Brethren, forgotten.

"Secure the area quickly," the apparent leader of his uniformed wizards said, he looked at his compatriots and then added, "For the Order of the Phoenix."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **I do not own Harry Potter or any of its fruits whether natural or artificial

**A/N2: **Thanks to rockhead2233 for taking some time to read through the draft.

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><p><strong><em>TWO<em>**

**Potter Manor, Potter Island**

**British Indian Ocean Territory**

Harry was having a wonderful dream about his wife, the lake at Hogwarts, and a pair of broomsticks. He was flying with Hermione at a little over five feet over the clear waters of the Black Lake, occasionally pointing their brooms down so that their feet would streak through the water.

In the background, Harry could see the beautiful setting sun as it slowly moved to hide behind the impressive silhouette of Hogwarts Castle.

This beautiful scene was then complimented by the musical laughter of his wife as they streaked through above the waters of the lake. Her laughter was contagious and pretty soon, Harry found himself laughing along.

She would joke about having children in the future and Harry would reply in the same joking manner, though both of them knew that they really wanted to have children in the future. Both just wanted to make sure that their children would grow up in a future where they did not have to fear for their safety, and this strengthened the Harry's resolve to make sure that such a future would be obtainable after what he now knew would be a war between himself and his old Headmaster.

Suddenly, the setting sun had completely hidden itself behind the castle, plunging Harry and Hermione into darkness. Neither reacted to the sudden darkness, for they were both expecting this, but as sudden as the light disappeared, a flash of lightning in the distance somehow necessitated both Harry and Hermione's attention.

What Harry saw chilled his bones and he drew his wand, determined to protect his wife. Numerous black hooded figures approached them, floating just a few feet above the water while the waters below them turned to ice in the wake of the suddenly cold atmosphere. Dementors.

He was about to send his Patronus to deal with the unearthly creatures when suddenly, Hermione screamed, forcing Harry to turn his attention toward her. The tentacle of the giant squid residing in the lake had captured her and was even now pulling her into the depths of the Black Lake. Harry did not hesitate and turned his wand toward the giant squid with the intention of forcing it to let his wife go, but before he could send the first syllable of his spell out of his mouth, he let out a loud yelp as he felt the cold waters of the lake through the tentacle of the giant squid that was now wrapped around him.

The giant squid shook Harry and for a split few seconds, all Harry could see was the stars when suddenly, the shaking stopped and his eyes opened. At first, he did not understand what he was staring at, but just as quickly as his eyes opened, Harry realized that he was staring straight into the eyes of the woman that he loved.

"Hermione," Harry said, moaning the name of his wife.

She smiled at him and nodded, but even the recently awoken Harry could see that her smile did not reach her eyes. There was something wrong here, and Harry could sense it. Tentatively, he reached for her, touching her brown locks and stroking her hair in an effort to calm her down while as he asked her what was wrong.

"Hec is outside," Hermione said in a low voice, telling Harry that she was enjoying his ministrations, "He has something urgent to report."

Harry nodded as he stopped stroking his wife's hair and jumped to his feet. Once he was balanced successfully, he offered his hand to his wife, and she, complete with girlish giggles, accepted the offered hand and allowed her husband to help her to her feet, "Any idea what it's about?" Harry asked as he helped his wife to her feet.

Hermione nodded, and Harry could not tell what the expression on her face was. It was neither sad nor happy, neither melancholic nor felicitous. It was neutral, and it worried Harry for he had expected to be able to discern if he should be worried or not with this announcement through the facial expressions of his wife.

"We've received an emergency request from Kingsley," Hermione explained, even as Harry put on his nightshirt – sadly, Harry noted that his wife was already wearing a jacket over her nightwear, depriving him of the chance to once more see his wife in her rather revealing clothes – "He reports that they are under attack and expressed his concerns that it might be Dumbledore," Hermione sighed as she added, "He is requesting reinforcements."

Harry nodded and finished dressing up by pulling his pants up. Once he was done, he looked at his wife and she nodded before the two of them walked with a calm purpose toward the door to their private suites. Not for the first time, Harry found himself wondering why the door to their private suites was so far from their bed, but not for the first time, he reminded himself that the only reason is probably because it can be done that way.

Nevertheless, it took the couple less than a minute to reach the doors and when they opened them, they found themselves in the common room to the private apartments of the Potter Lord.

All the lights in the common room were turned on even before the couple entered, so everyone could see that the members of Harry's Inner Circle – with the exception of Sirius who was still in England trying to arrange a meeting between the Prime Minister and Harry – were already gathered inside.

Harry could not also help but take note of the fact that none of the members of his Inner Circle were wearing their nightclothes. In fact, both Remus and Hector were wearing their battle armor and Dan was wearing a polo shirt and jeans, a sign that the only Granger male was not awoken from his bed, but had already been awake for a while.

Also present in the common room were Emma Granger and Tonks, the latter wearing the same clothes as Remus while the former was wearing the same clothes as her daughter, a testament to the fact that unlike her husband, Emma Granger was probably awoken from her sleep so that she could take part in this impromptu gathering.

"Hec," Harry said as a house-elf popped in and handed Harry and Hermione a mug of hot chocolate each, "What do we have?"

"Kingsley Shacklebolt," Hector began, "the last agent we have in the Order of the Phoenix and an agent within the British Auror Corps has contacted us barely thirty minutes ago and informed us that the Ministry of Magic was under magical attack," the head of the bodyguards reported, "Based on the information that he was able to give us before he was forced to cut off contact, we can be certain that Dumbledore has begun his offensive strike against the Ministry."

"Can they hold?" Dan asked as he replaced the cup of coffee that he was drinking from back to the table in front of him.

Hector did not even hesitate to shake his head, "Impossible," he replied, "they can bog down the advancing members of the real Order, but the real Order has the advantage of better coordination, better equipment, and better leadership, at the most, the Ministry can hold them for probably just another two to three hours before they fall."

"I take it that we are here in order to organize a response, possibly even a reinforcement party?" Hermione asked, she looked at Hector and asked, "Why should we send our people out there when the Ministry has already become our enemy?"

Hector smiled as he shook his head, "My Lady," he began, "We already have a reinforcement team waiting for the go-ahead from His Grace, and to answer your second question, even if the Ministry had become our enemy, we are honor-bound to at least try to rescue our assets within the Ministry."

"Madam Bones, Amos Diggory, Broderick Bode and anyone else that we have inside the Ministry who are working, unwittingly or not, for us," Remus said, he looked at Harry and Hermione and added, "Reports indicate that the defenders have been pushed into the Department of Mysteries and that the Unspeakables are even now preparing to destroy everything that they have while the few remaining defenders hold the line," he turned serious as he added, "You have to decide now whether or not to go and help them, decide a bit too late and there might be not be a reason to send help anymore."

Harry nodded and turned to his wife. Hermione looked thoughtful for a few moments, biting her lower lip was a sure sign that she was thinking, before she nodded without saying anything else. Harry nodded back and turned toward Hector before he said, "Send them in."

Hector nodded and turned towards Remus with a nod before he left the common room in order to give the signal to what Harry and Hermione assumed was a reinforcement unit waiting for him somewhere near the private apartments of his lodgings.

"Hector is leading the reinforcement column," Remus explained the moment that Hector had left the room, "He is going to lead fifty of your men and women into the Ministry in order to assist with the evacuation and destruction of important artifacts before retreating to the reserve Ministry building under Buckingham Palace," seeing the surprised looked at the faces of Harry, Hermione, Dan and Emma, Remus chuckled as he continued, "The Ministry for Magic is always under the ruling monarch of the United Kingdom, therefore, it only makes sense that we retreat to the palace, and no, the Chief Manipulator would not make the foolish of mistake of invading the palace in force anytime in the near future."

"Anyway, in case Hec needs more men, I am going to lead one hundred men and women to reinforce him," Remus continued, "The second tier reinforcement group is still in the process of getting ready, but we should be ready within the next twenty to thirty minutes, we estimate that by that time, Hec would have a rough idea of whether or not he would need us, but we would remain in standby even if he thinks that we are not needed."

"The third and final tier reinforcement group, we are going to leave to you," Remus said as he looked at Harry, "It consists of all available shooters that we have and are only going to be needed should a full intervention be required. They are not in the process of getting ready yet, but have been alerted and would steadily be brought up to full strength."

Harry nodded his understanding of the delegation of roles, but it was Hermione who said something first, "You do not expect to use the third tier."

Remus shook his head, "Using the third tier would mean that we are probably already in a state of war, Hermione," he said, "There is a reason why Harry is going to lead that unit."

Realizing what Remus was saying, Harry was about to launch into a tirade, but a stern look from his wife was all that was needed in order to kill whatever anger that was brewing inside him at the thought of being left behind from the battle. With a defeated look, he merely nodded toward his wife and steered the conversation away to other related matters.

**Department of Mysteries, Ministry of Magic**

**London, England**

Kingsley Shacklebolt ducked just in time to avoid the lethal jets of green light coming from the enemy positions opposite him. A thud to his right and left confirmed that at least two more of his remaining aurors were not as lucky as he was.

Turning his attention down the auror line hiding behind the makeshift barricade that the combined might of the surviving ministry forces had managed to erect before the service lifts leading to the Department of Mysteries, the most senior remaining auror captain fought the urge to sigh.

Kingsley was not even that high up in the roster of the aurors in the DMLE, but the senior force had all fallen, with a few exceptions, to the unknown invading forces. They were sure that the invading forces were not Death Eaters because they were not garbed in standard death eater gear and because the few dead that the Ministry survivors were able to gather were not sporting the Dark Mark.

What they were sporting, however, was far more deadly in its implication. The dead, after all, were all wearing the seal of the Order of the Phoenix upon their right forearms, making them senior members of the Order of the Phoenix. If this was true, then Kingsley knew that the Old-Man had finally shown his true colors to the world.

Kingsley turned his attention toward the single door that he and his remaining fifteen aurors – down from fifty – were defending. It was a nondescript door that Kingsley knew lead to the rotating room that is the entrance to the Department of Mysteries. Right now, countless unspeakables and the few remaining senior members of the Ministry Departments are inside. The Unspeakables are planting magical explosives along strategic positions, intending to destroy their research rather than let it fall to the hands of unknown invaders, while the senior members of the Ministry Departments are either assisting them or doing things only they knew.

"This is bad," Kingsley heard one of his aurors down the line say, "this is very, very bad" and without warning, that same auror stood up and fired curses toward the direction of their enemies before anyone could say anything. Unfortunately for that auror, their enemies were waiting and he was cut down by no less than fifteen killing curses before he could even send his fifth stunner.

The lifeless body of that auror fell to the ground while the fourteen remaining aurors under the command of Kingsley all made the decision to fight fire with fire, switching their primary curses from stunners to reductors.

Kingsley carefully peeked out of their makeshift barricade and saw five of their garbed enemies stealthily making their way toward them. Uncovered, these five were easy targets for the waiting aurors and within moments, Kingsley had given the signal.

At his signal, the fifteen remaining aurors stood and fired a barrage of reductor curses against the five sneakers, redecorating the wall with their blood and other broken body parts. A swift response came from those garbed wizards who were supposed to be covering their comrades and Kingsley yelled for everyone to duck even as jets of green light streaked toward their positions. This time, Kingsley was happy to note that none of his remaining aurors were hit by the killing curse.

The death of five of their comrades, however, seemed to enrage the remaining garbed wizards and they kept a constant stream of killing curses, making it impossible for Kingsley and his remaining aurors to offer any more resistance. Even if they did stood, they would just be cut down by that constant stream of killing curses before they could even send one curse towards their enemies.

Kingsley was debating with himself whether or not to withdraw to the relative safety of the Department of Mysteries, but before he could decide anything, the door to the department opened.

Kingsley and his remaining aurors turned their attention toward the door expecting to see unspeakables who had already finished rigging their entire department, but instead saw men garbed in black tactical gear flooding out of the room and rushing to reinforce his remaining aurors along the makeshift barricade.

The aurors wondered who these men were, seeing that none of them were carrying wands or even dressed in robes, but not Kingsley, who shook hands with the apparent leader of the group, "Kingsley Shacklebolt, auror captain," he said as he shook hands with the apparent leader.

"Hector Boone," Hector replied, "Commander of this detachment," before he motioned to the remaining aurors along the line, "This all you have left?"

Kingsley sadly nodded, "They are armed with staffs that extend the range of their curses," the auror captain explained, "And they are keeping up a barrage of killing curses that makes it impossible for me or my people to offer any more resistance."

"No problem," Hector replied, he turned back to the door and Kingsley saw that there were more black garbed men waiting for some sort of signal there. Hector motioned for them to get into line and Kingsley watched as ten men took positions in the wall. These ten men, however, appear to be carrying something that was heavy and required two men to carry.

"At my signal," Hector said, addressing his men, "throw grenades," before he silently counted with the fingers of his right hand. Kingsley saw several of the black garbed men pull something cylindrical from whatever they were wearing – their black garbs appeared to have several pockets as well as several other things strapped into them – and waited for the signal. At the signal, the men threw these cylindrical things to the direction of the enemy wizards. Barely three seconds had passed before five separate loud explosions among the enemy lines silenced the killing curse barrage and replaced them with the moans of pain from dying men.

"Machineguns," Hector said, motioning to the ten men who were last to take positions. These ten men set something up along strategic points in the makeshift barricade and then waited, "M60 general purpose machineguns," Hector said to Kingsley, "Can cut down anything that comes out from that lift and through those stairs over there," he pointed and saw that two of the machineguns had been placed to cover the stairs while three were covering the lift, "Riflemen, in case we need more firepower and when the machineguns require reloading or their barrels replacing," Hector said, motioning to the other black garbed men in the makeshift barricade, all of whom, Kingsley noted, were holding the same kinds of rifles, "And I have a few more men inside assisting with the planting of explosives."

Kingsley nodded, "We cannot hold," he said in a low voice as if the very thought was painful. Judging from what Hector had seen though, the commander of the bodyguards was sure that that the very thought of leaving behind the Ministry was painful to Kingsley and his remaining aurors, "We would have to evacuate soon."

The remaining aurors were confused since they were sure that the only way out of the ministry was through the atrium, and it did not take a genius to know that the atrium was already overrun. Needless to say, the secret bridge connecting the Department of Mysteries with the underground reserve ministry building under Buckingham Palace was a secret that very few in the Ministry were aware of.

None were able to voice their doubts, however, because at that moment, the lift opened and fifteen members of the Order charged forward with their staffs at the ready. The fifteen men were barely able to take one step before they were cut down by the ready and waiting machinegun gunners.

Spent cartridges flew everywhere along the makeshift line, some hitting the still crouching aurors who found that the spent cartridges were very hot, but did not complain, especially after they saw the hamburger that the fifteen members of the Order became after being hit by the barrage.

"Loud though," Kingsley said with a smile after the barrage had ended and he surveyed the damage done. In his peripheral vision, he noted the assistant gunners assisting their gunners in linking the ammunition belts that fed their machineguns, "but very effective."

"Non-magical technology," Hector said, he motioned to a few of his men, and those men stood and charged into the kill zone. Turning toward Kingsley, he noted the questioning look on the auror captain's face and explained, "Those staffs are weapons that we have not come across before, it only makes sense that we attempt to discover how they are able to overcome the range limitations on magic, and the best way to do that is to take a few samples that our experts back home may study."

Suddenly, the men inside the kill zone dropped into crouching position and pointed their rifles towards the staircase leading to the floor above the Department of Mysteries. Four cloaked figures appeared on the stairwell, but no one got a good look at them alive because the moment that their faces were seen, the men in the kill zone let rip, firing their rifles against those four men. As if that was not enough to ensure that those four men were dead, the two machineguns that were placed specifically to intercept the stairwell opened fire as well, adding to the cacophony of sounds being produced by the rifles.

"Cease fire!" Hector shouted while waving his arm above him like he was saying goodbye to someone far away. His men instantly obeyed his instructions and the sounds being produced by their firearms ceased as fingers were pulled away from triggers. Quite a few of the riflemen had to reload, leaving behind spent magazines in the floor of the kill zone along with the bodies of the dead members of the Order.

"Are you not going to collect those spent magazines and shells?" Kingsley asked Hector a few moments later as both men watched the riflemen sent into the kill zone return to the makeshift barricade, "They might find out that we had muggle weaponry down here."

"Doesn't matter," Hector assured Kingsley with a smile before he added, "I suppose you haven't heard about it yet, but we had to fight our way outside of Hogwarts as well, we had to use the battleship, so it would not have mattered if they knew that we were using muggle weapons against them."

Kingsley looked thoughtful for a few moments, but then he nodded. He, however, had to ask something, "Al?"

Hector sadly shook his head, and at that instant, the auror captain wished that he had not asked that question. It was obvious from the reaction of the head of their reinforcement unit that the commander of the Potter Bodyguards was already gone. The next words of Hector only served to highlight this fact as the man replied, "Dead, killed by Albus Dumbledore, but not before Al was able to exact his vengeance on the man."

Kingsley nodded, "He will be missed," he said in a low voice, before his voice resumed its original tone as he said, "How long before we can evacuate?"

Hector shrugged, but instead of replying to the question, he grabbed the radio that was strapped on his shoulder and asked the same question to the person on the other end. The reply lifted the spirits of the men who were still standing guard since the voice on the other end informed them that in a few moments, the Department would be ready to welcome the invaders with a very warm reception.

Magazines were snapped in place while Hector sent two volunteers to booby-trap the stairwell with claymore mines in preparation for the final push, though given that they were defending, they were actually waiting for their enemies to make the final push even if their enemies did not know that.

Five minutes later, Hector received the radio signal that he was waiting for, and he instantly motioned for his men to prepare to evacuate. Kingsley – who was watching Hector – seconded the signal for his aurors.

The machinegun crews were the first ones to evacuate. Hector might be willing to leave behind spent cartridges and magazines, but he was not willing to leave behind working hardware, and the machineguns were the heaviest hardware that they had, so they got to go first. Fortunately, the Order did not try to attack during the evacuation, leading both Hector and Kingsley to think that the wizards were planning the best strategy to overrun the rebels' positions. Barely three minutes later, the entire makeshift barricade was empty save for Kingsley and Hector.

Once they were sure that none of their men would be left behind, the two men made for the door. Kingsley entered first, but before Hector entered, he set up one last Claymore to cover the door to the Department and then planted a wire that lead to the firing mechanism of a miniature fuel-air bomb inside the rotating room. The first person to enter the rotating room would snap the wire, detonating the fuel-air bomb, as well as the firing mechanisms of the thirteen thousand pounds of explosives that was planted by Hector's men. Even if the magical explosives failed, those C4 explosives would not.

Hector took one last look around and the room to make sure that he really was the last one in the field. Satisfied that this was true, he was the absolute last to evacuate the Ministry of Magic to the Order of the Phoenix.

An hour later, fifty fully armed members of the Order of the Phoenix entered the rotating room. Their numbers had taken a terrible beating in trying to access the door, but now that they were here, they are sure that nothing could stop them. Unfortunately for them, as Hector had planned, the first man inside the rotating room tripped into the wire, and a few more seconds later, the attention of everyone in London turned toward what was a non-descript alley that had suddenly turned into a raging inferno.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **I do not own Harry Potter or any of its fruits whether natural or artificial

**A/N2: **Thanks to rockhead2233 for taking some time to read through the draft.

* * *

><p><strong>THREE<strong>

**Ministry for Magic Reserve, Underneath Buckingham Palace**

**England, United Kingdom**

Harry surveyed the scene before him, while he stood at an observation deck mounted over the ground floor of where the survivors from the siege have gathered as soon as they left the Ministry.

To his side, Remus and Tonks also surveyed the scene and at the same time, they were taking detailed notes so that Harry could review them later. The two had correctly guessed that the head of the Potter Family would not be able to think properly with the carnage that was in front of him.

Although it was supposed to be the reserve building for the government that governs the magical world in the whole of the United Kingdom, this building was nothing compared to the primary building of the Ministry. That building had several underground levels, but this building only had two.

Harry supposed that the reason for this is because this building was just a reserve. As he looked at the wondering faces on some of the aurors that had managed to escape from the Ministry, the Duke of Gryffindor was also forced to concede that not everyone in the Ministry was even aware that this building existed.

Harry moved forward so that he could place his arms on the railing that prevented anyone in the observation deck from falling straight into the atrium of this building and he regarded what he was seeing with horror.

Preliminary briefings from Hector and Sirius had pegged the number of aurors available to the Ministry at over fifty men. Looking down, Harry could count only sixteen men wearing the robes of aurors. This did not mean that those aurors who were not here right now were dead, but given what had happened, that was the most likely scenario.

Another depressing thing that Harry had to note was that there was an absence of Hit Wizards. Although the Duke was hoping that the Hit Wizards fell in battle with the forces of his former Headmaster, for some reason, Harry was forced to concede that those Hit Wizards were actually working for the Headmaster of Hogwarts from the beginning.

One of only two pieces of good news that had greeted the Duke upon his arrival here was that the Unspeakables were almost done. They appeared to have suffered minimal casualties, but the reason for that, Harry knew, was because the Unpseakables locked themselves up in their department and set about preparing to demolish the entire place. In other words, they did not really fight.

The last piece of good news that greeted the Duke upon his arrival was the news that the former members of the Royal Council were all safe and accounted for.

Turning his gaze back to the atrium, the Duke was easily able to identify Amelia Bones as she went about the decimated ranks of her auror corps to lend a here and there. From the grim look on her face, Harry knew that she was extremely pissed off.

Broderick Bode was also in the atrium and was lingering with his colleagues from the Department of Mysteries. Since Bode was one of the few Unspeakables who were not wearing the standard garb that the members of their department were wearing, Harry was easily able to identify them.

Finally, Amos Diggory was seated near the portal connecting this reserve building with the primary building. The portal was shut down in case some of those who were attacking the Ministry had survived the explosion that Hector had set or anyone inside this building would want to return to give their attackers a well-deserved beating.

The Duke studied Amos intently and saw that the member of the Department of Magical Creaturse Regulation was weeping. Amos sat alone, and he seemed to project an aura of misery that even if someone wanted to help him, that someone would rather just leave him alone.

Noticing where the man that he was supposed to be protecting was looking, Remus touched Harry's right shoulder, forcing the Duke to turn his gaze toward him. Once Harry was looking at him, Remus said, "Hec reported that Tabitha Diggory was among those killed during the siege," he turned his gaze toward Amos and shook his head bitterly, "He has lost his entire family."

"I see," Harry replied in a grave voice; he wanted to go down there and comfort Amos, but before he could do so, someone else approached the melancholy man. Harry and his two companions watched for a few moments as the lady who approached Amos comforted him, before he threw his arms around her and held her much like how a drowning man would hold onto a piece of drifting wood.

"Hillary," Tonks said, answering Harry's unasked question as to the identity of the woman who was comforting Amos, "A former NSA. She is your lead interrogator, but she is also a psychology graduate, so she is the best we have when it comes to this kind of thing," she shook her head angrily, and Harry got the distinct impression that she wanted to burst. Fortunately, she was stopped by Remus placing his other hand on her shoulder.

Tonks turned to look at Remus for a few moments, and she seemed ready to argue with her partner. Remus, however, fixed her with a stern glare, and she reluctantly nodded her head a few moments later and stood down.

Harry did not notice any of this since his attention was once more turned toward the atrium, in particular, toward the section of the atrium where the wounded had been gathered and the insufficient number of mediwizards who were working on them.

With a frown, Harry turned toward his two companions as he realized that the amount of medical personnel that they had would not be enough. "Can we bring our own people here?" Harry asked as he pointed toward the area where the wounded are being cared for, "They do not have enough."

Remus nodded, "We know, Harry," the former Defense against the Dark Arts professor replied sympathetically, "Our medical teams are still getting ready, but we will be able to bring them in soon."

Harry nodded and then motioned for his two companions to accompany him. They removed themselves from the observation area and descended to the atrium level through the stairs. A few moments later, they were in the atrium and moving about the decimated ranks of the Ministry.

Their presence did not go unnoticed and a few moments later, Amelia Bones and Broderick Bode joined them. With Amos Diggory still distraught, they were the only ones available from the Royal Council.

"Mr. Potter," Amelia greeted Harry formally with a stiff nod. Beside her, Bode followed suit, "Thank you for your assistance."

Harry returned her nod with a stiff nod of his own, "It was nothing," he assured her, and then he looked around as if he was observing the crisis that the Ministry had found themselves in the middle of, before he regarded Amelia once more and asked, "How bad?"

Amelia sighed twice, and Harry got the distinct impression that she did so in order to let out the steam that she was feeling. Given that her department was among those that were the most gutted, Harry could not blame her for feeling a bit like an erupting volcano today, "A little over a hundred made it here," she said, she spat out bitterly, "This was from the twelve hundred men and women who were at the Ministry during the time of the siege."

Harry nodded, but Amelia was not done yet. She whipped her head toward the Harry's direction so fast that her monocle flew from her eye, "Do you know who attacked us?" she demanded.

Harry looked at his two companions, who both nodded, before he turned his gaze back toward Amelia and nodded, "The Order of the Phoenix," he replied simply, and before Amelia or Bode could complain, the Duke of Gryffindor quickly added, "Albus Dumbledore is getting out of control, Madam Bones, and this is but the first few steps that he has prepared to undertake in order to consolidate power in his hands."

"But he is the Leader of the Light," Amelia complained, and beside her, Bode gave a stiff nod as well. Observing the Unpseakable, Remus was able to tell that he hesitated, "He has been at the forefront of the fight against every Dark Wizard that had ever sprouted since the beginning of this century."

Harry was about to concede to that fact, but before he could even open his mouth, Remus beat him to it. The werewolf, however, did not address his question to either Harry or Amelia, instead, he addressed his question to the member of the Department of Mysteries, "You do not really think that that is the case do you?"

For a reply, Bode smiled. It was obvious that he was reluctant to reveal the reason why he was able to accept the insinuation that Dumbledore was not really the Leader of the Light, but a stern gaze from Amelia forced him to reconsider his position and he was forced to give the answer.

"Albus Dumbledore has been at the forefront of the fight against every Dark Wizard that had sprouted up since the beginning of this century," Bode replied, confirming what Amelia had claimed, but then an ironic smile formed in his face as he continued, "At least," he said, "that is what he wants people to believe"

"Albus Dumbledore," Bode continued, "was childhood friends with Gellert Grindelwald," ignoring the shocked expression on the faces of his audience, the Unspeakable continued, "We know that the two of them had planned for the complete subjugation of Europe, but for some reason, we believe that it was the death of Dumbledore's sister, Ariana, that led to the two having a falling out."

"That does not mean, however," Bode continued, "that Dumbledore had changed his views, he just became more adept at hiding them."

"But what about his final duel with Grindelwald?" Amelia asked.

Bode scoffed, "A duel that no one actually witnessed," he replied, at the confused look on the faces of his audience, Bode continued, "Supposedly, they dueled for three days and two nights, but that is impossible."

"Anyway," Bode continued, "We believe that the former childhood friends came up with a deal or something and Grindelwald allowed Dumbledore to imprison him."

"And his crusade against You-Know-Who?" Amelia asked with hesitation. From the tone of her voice, Harry could tell that she was both afraid and excited about what she might find out.

"Dumbledore has been protecting the Dark Lord since Tom Riddle came to Hogwarts," Bode replied, and again, when he saw the confused expression on the face of most of his audience, he explained, "Tom Riddle is the person that you now know as Lord Voldemort."

"I know," Harry said in a low voice, "he told me."

Bode nodded, "Why he was protecting the Dark Lord, we do not know," he replied, "Dumbledore is very much aware of the parents of the Dark Lord, a muggle born without magic and a squib, so it cannot be about blood supremacy, and unfortunately, we still do not know why he is protecting him."

**Potter Manor, Potter Island**

**British Indian Ocean Territory**

Hermione hummed a tune to herself as she entered through the now familiar double doors that lead to the main library of the Potter family. Almost reverently, she pushed the doors open just wide enough to allow her passage and squeezed her tiny frame through the tiny opening before she closed the door once more.

Once she was inside the library, a smile of satisfaction appeared on her face as she regarded the – literally – mountains of knowledge hidden in the books before her. More than fifty shelves – each nearly ten feet in height – were arranged geometrically before her. Behind these fifty shelves were another fifty, and still another fifty behind the second set of fifty, for a total of one hundred fifty shelves. Although she had not counted the number of books each shelf was capable of storing, she had been told by the head house-elf librarian that the library currently housed more than seven hundred thousand books on all subjects.

For someone like Hermione, the Potter family library was one of the places that she could truly call heaven on earth.

Walking slowly toward the reading area, she allowed her gaze to fall on the shelves surrounding her and a small smile formed on her face as she regarded the tomes that were seemingly waiting for her to open them. Promising herself that she would read those books as soon as possible, she was able to make it safely to the reading area – a mere fifteen feet away from the entrance, but considering the circumstances, an almost impossible distance for Hermione – without pulling a single book from its shelf.

As Hermione had expected, the table that she had claimed for her own was buried under five piles of ten notebooks each. Usually, she would frown at seeing such a pile, but she knew that the house-elf librarians had prepared these newly arrived notebooks just as she had instructed them to do.

She sat down on her preferred seat and her arms snaked to the first notebook in the first pile before her. Opening the notebook, she saw that it was actually more like a journal and realized that all of the notebooks in front of her may be rightly considered as journals.

She looked at the name of the owner of the notebook, and her eyebrows were briefly raised when she realized that this journal did not belong to Alvin York. A few moments later, she giggled as she realized that she should have realized that before since there was no way Al could write this much considering what he was doing when he was still alive.

Given that the name on the journal bore the same last name as Al, however, Hermione knew that this journal belonged to someone from the family of Al.

"Willy," Hermione said and a pop later, a house-elf appeared beside Hermione

"Mistress," the house-elf who was the lead librarian – and named after William Shakespeare according to him – said as he popped into existence beside Hermione, "What can Willy be doing for Mistress?"

"Do you know who this George York was?" Hermione asked.

Willy shook his head, "Willy is being sorry, Mistress," the house-elf said, "but Willy is not be knowing who Master George is because he is being dead before Willy be is being born."

Hermione sighed but allowed her patience to take over as she regarded the elf. In a calm voice, she rephrased her question, "Who is George York, Willy?" she asked.

Willy nodded, "Master George is being Master Al's great-grandfather, Mistress," the house-elf replied, "Master George is being the brother of Mistress Cassandra, Mistress"

"Cassandra?" Hermione asked the house-elf at the same time that she asked herself where she had heard that name before. As the house-elf was nodding like his head, the Duchess realized where she had heard the name before and she regarded the house-elf librarian before she asked, "Cassandra Trewlany, the seer?" she asked, and again the house-elf nodded, "I see," she regarded the house-elf and smiled at him before she dismissed him.

Hermione browsed through the journal, reading a few interesting – and long – entries before she came across a reference to what George York referred to as 'the Prophecy'. Figuring that she missed something, Hermione began reading the entries backward and a few minutes later came across a very short entry that read like a prophecy:

_A score of years would be all that is left  
>When the final son of the Basilisk falls<br>The thin veil that divides the world  
>Pierced by the Griffin's sword<br>That day will be the end of our world_

Hermione blinked after she finished reading the passage. She was about to read the passage again piece by piece in order to understand the prophecy better, but before she could do so, the door to the library opened and Irina walked in.

This was the first time that Hermione was seeing Irina since Al was buried. Gone was the smile from the face of the beautiful woman, and instead, it was replaced by a neutral expression that, frankly, was more worrisome than a frown. Seeing the Duchess in front of her, however, a small smile formed on her face – though Hermione could tell that the smile did not really reach her eyes – and the love potions expert of the Potter family joined the Duchess.

Seeing what Hermione was looking at, Irina gave her a nod and said, "I see that you've already read it."

"This?" Hermione asked as she pointed at the prophecy. At the nod from Irina, Hermione continued, "I did, but I am afraid that I don't understand it."

Irina sighed, "Prophecies were never my strong subject, Hermione," she admitted, "but with this one, I know how to interpret it since Al told me how to" she extended her hand for the notebook, and Hermione gave it to her. Irina started by reading the prophecy out loud and then said, "The York Family calls this the 'End Prophecy'."

Hermione nodded, "I can certainly see why, but what does it mean?"

Irina smiled, "The Basilisk refers to Slytherin and the Griffin refers to Gryffindor," she said. Irina watched as Hermione's eyes bulged into saucers as she realized the implication of the prophecy, but before she could say anything, Irina added, "The day will come when you and Lord Harry would reveal the existence of magic to the world."

Hermione nodded, "Does it mean Voldemort?" she asked. Seeing the confused look on the face of Irina, the Duchess added, "'The last son of the Basilisk?'"

Irina, however, did not reply. Instead, she merely smiled at the Duchess. For some reason, that smile worried Hermione.

**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

**Scotland, United Kingdom**

Albus Dumbledore regarded the prisoners in front of him with undisguised curiosity. The Headmaster of Hogwarts was curious as to how these few were able to remain alive while they were supposed to be the ones who were leading the defense of the ministry. With a smile, however, the Headmaster of Hogwarts supposed that the reason that they were still alive was because these few were nothing but a bunch of cowards.

Turning his gaze to his prisoners, the Headmaster sighed, he was about to offer them all Lemon Drops for old time's sake, but as he reached for his treat, his eyes fell on the metal prosthetics that were now his hands and his temper erupted, his magic bursting out in the form of a cacophony of colors that threatened to destroy the office.

Proving that he had control of himself, the Headmaster was easily able to shut his magic up, but decided to forego the usual treat and instead again regarded the prisoners that his army had brought before him.

Five people were kneeling in front of the Headmaster, gagged and with their hands tied behind their backs. Behind the five were five men wearing the uniform of the combat arm of the Order, and each of these five soldiers were holding wands pointed to the back of the heads of the five prisoners. If even a single one of them made the wrong move, a quick cutting curse to the back of their head would see to their end.

Dumbledore gave each one of the five captives a smile as he named them, "Minister Fudge, Undersecretary Dolores Umbridge, Head Auror Rufus Scrimgoeuer, Wizengamot Senior Member Tiberius Odgen, and Head of the Department of Magical Transportation Kevin Edgecombe, welcome to my office."

The five glared at their former Head of the Wizengamot, but Dumbledore merely scoffed at them. With a wave of his hand, he banished the gag that was keeping the Minister from launching into a tirade, but he quickly asked himself if that was the right thing to do since the moment that the gag was removed, the Minister of Magic began threatening Dumbledore.

"Oh, do shut up would you," Dumbledore said as he waved his hand and the Minister's mouth disappeared. Dumbledore regarded his prisoners coldly – and each of them, if they have not been placed in a full body bind along with the other curses that saw them restraint would have completely released their bowels – and said, "I realize that what I have done might seem treasonous, but it is the only choice I have in order to insure the continued existence of our world."

As Dumbledore had expected, that got the attention of his audience. With a captive audience, the Headmaster began to rationalize his preemptive move, "Before I was born, a prophecy was been made. That prophecy foretold the end of our world as we know it," he moved to his pensive and touched it with his hand as a figure arose from it and recited the 'End Prophecy'.

Visibly cowed by the words of the prophecy, the five captives held their breath. Dumbledore saw this and continued to explain, "My actions today were aimed at preventing the end of our magical world," he said, and he waved his hand and banished the gags on the other captives along with returning the Minister's mouth.

"The final son of the Basilisk obviously refers to You-Know-Who," Fudge said as he regarded Dumbledore, "but he has been killed before."

Dumbledore scoffed at the Minister, "He has a way of coming back from the dead, Minister, and it is in the form of Horcruxes," he said, "He has returned once already, and I have been told that he had been killed by Harry Potter and his people again, though with his Horcruxes still intact, he is going to return."

"Why attack the Ministry?" Umbridge asked, there was genuine confusion on her face as she asked that question, "We would have worked with you given these circumstances."

"Would you have?" Dumbledore asked as he regarded the woman with a cold gaze. Umbridge shifted and shut up after that, but the Headmaster was not finished, "I've told you repeatedly that Voldemort was back, but you refused to listen to me, and this secret," he motioned to the pensive so everyone assumed that he was talking about the prophecy that he had just revealed, "is a secret for a reason."

"You've made your point," Fudge said, conceding, "What can we do to prevent this?"

Dumbledore smiled, "We need to find the wraith of Voldemort and convince him to come under our protection," he said, "Offer him anything that he wants so long as he agrees to come under our protection."

Umbridge and Fudge nodded their acceptance of the idea, but the other three seemed reluctant. After a few moments – and a few veiled threats about what would happen should their world be revealed to the muggles – the remaining three gave their reluctant nod to the Headmaster.

"This brings us to another problem," Dumbledore said, and he pointed his wand at his pensive once more. The ghostly image of Sybill Trewlany recited the prophecy foretelling the defeat of Voldemort and after hearing the prophecy, all five were again ashen-faced.

"We need to prevent this from happening," Umbridge said in a shocked voice, she turned to Dumbledore and asked, "Do you know who this Chosen One is?"

Dumbledore nodded, "Harry Potter," he replied, seeing the surprised look on the face of his 'guest', the Headmaster added, "That is why every year, we have designed obstacles that would see to his death, and every year, he manages to escape from them relatively unscathed even as my spies in his camp try to see to his end," he shook his head as he added, "He is now more powerful than ever before."

Fudge smiled, "You take care of the Dark Lord," he said, "Let us take care of Potter."

Dumbledore regarded his 'new ally' for a few moments and was tempted to ask how he intended to take care of Harry Potter when his latest attempt against the boy ended with a complete failure that nearly cost Dumbledore the leadership of the International Confederation – trying a boy for self-defense did not go well with the delegates of the other countries and they demanded that Dumbledore do something about it – but then he gave his nod as he realized that dealing with the Dark Lord would take up a lot of his time.

"Very well," Dumbledore said with a nod as he regarded Fudge and Umbridge, "I'll leave it to the two of you, and just to remind you what would happen should you even think of betraying me," he gave a nod to the five wizards behind the five captives, and the five cast the cutting curse to the backs of the five captives, "that is but an appetizer," the Headmaster said coldly as the five captives writhed on the floor before him. He regarded his soldiers and then said, "Throw them in the Hospital Wing, and make sure that Poppy heals them," his head ached as he remembered that the matron of the Hospital Wing hated him now, so he added, "And remind her as well what would happen should she betray me."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **I do not own Harry Potter or any of its fruits whether natural or artificial

**A/N2: **Thanks to rockhead2233 for taking some time to read through the draft.

* * *

><p><span>FOUR<span>

**Potter Manor, Potter Island**

**British Indian Ocean Territory**

Harry sighed as he stepped into the welcoming front porch of the house that is Potter Manor in Potter Island. In the opinion of the fifteen year old, this had been one of the busiest days that he had had to go through since he was declared Duke of Gryffindor just a few months ago.

During the impromptu meeting between himself, Amelia, Bode and Hector, the Duke of Gryffindor had to listen to after-action reports being given by members of both those who had survived the siege and the men and women under the command of Hector that were rushed to the Ministry to assist.

Thankfully – or rather, Harry was told to be thankful about it – the Department of Mysteries was completely destroyed before the two parties had to withdraw from the ministry building. Hector then added – much to the amusement of his people – that the entire Ministry had been secured since he was pretty sure that the fuel air bombs that he and his men had left behind had done their job.

Of course, thanks to the fact that the group of Hector's did not dare to venture out of their relatively safe cover zones and since the survivors from the Ministry were busy trying to save themselves, there was no clear word on how many had attacked the Ministry, though Kingsley had to remark that at least a hundred wizards were included in the attack.

The Duke of Gryffindor turned his attention toward his back and had to smile as he watched Hector help Amelia down from the passenger seat of the Land Rover Snatch that they had used to transport them from the location of the portal connecting the underground reserve ministry building to the island.

Amelia looked as if she would have rather walked, but given the distance that would have been impractical and the only other transportation option available to them – one of the utility helicopters waiting outside the defense bunker – was vetoed from being used since the magic shielding of the helicopter might not be enough seeing that the guests had just come from a battlefield.

Amelia allowed Hector to help her off the passenger side of the Snatch at the same time that the Snatch following them pulled to a stop just a little bit behind the first. From the second Snatch, Kingsley and three of Hector's men involved during the battle stepped out.

Unlike her boss, the black auror was more comfortable coming down from the aircraft, though Harry had to wonder if that was because Kingsley had been trained to work undercover in the non-magical world.

A 101 Forward Control utility truck followed after the second Snatch. This truck pulled to a stop in front of the first Snatch and the first thing that Harry noted was that the truck was carrying a heavy box that reminded Harry of the box where the quaffle, bludgers and snitch were kept.

Two impressive looking men had to help each other bring down the box and carry it into the manor house.

"This is an impressive place, Lord Gryffindor," Amelia said as soon as she had gotten over her queasiness that resulted from being aboard a non-magical form of transportation. Beside her, Bode did not seem all that bothered at all, though if Harry were to guess, he would have guessed that Bode, like Kinglsey, had also trained for undercover work in the non-magical world.

"Potter Manor," Harry replied as he looked at the former head of the Department for Magical Law Enforcement, "My home."

Surprisingly, Bode nodded before he asked Harry if it might be alright if they entered the house. Harry gave his permission and led the guests into the house.

The first thing that Harry noted when he entered the house was his wife waiting for him. She was standing inside the house with her arms on her hips and staring at him with a look that made Harry wish that he could remember what it was that she was mad about and hoping that she would not string him up for too long before accepting his profound apologies.

When she caught sight of him, however, Hermione's arms flew down from her hips and straight into Harry, eventually finding themselves on his back as she kept a tight grip on him. Without words, she moved her head so that her lips were just parallel to his and they kissed.

When they broke the kiss, Harry grinned at his wife and said in a small voice, "I thought that you would be angry with me," he admitted.

"Oh, I am angry, Harry," she replied with a smile, "but not at you," she looked at Hector with the same look that she had given her husband before their kiss and the former United States Marine cringed while in the back of his mind, he wondered if the gods hated him for making him survive Dessert Storm.

"My Lady…," the head of the Potter Bodyguards tried, but Hermione stopped him with a motion of her right hand and the bodyguard fell silent.

"What is it, dear?" Harry asked, concerned for his wife since it was not every day that she was irritated as much as she seem to be right now.

Hermione turned her attention back to her husband and sighed, "Al," she began, "I've read his notes and I found some disturbing things in it," she looked at Hector and asked, "Were you aware of what he was researching?"

Hector shook his head, and smiled when he realized that the Duchess of Gryffindor was no longer aiming to kill him.

It was only at that moment that Hermione Potter realized that they had guests. She turned to them and blushed when she recognized who they were and she bowed toward them while muttering an apology under her breath.

Amelia and Bode accepted her apology, but then remarked that there was no need for it since they did not send word of their arrival.

"Auntie!" the enthusiastic voice of Susan Bones said as she caught sight of her guardian.

She was on the second floor of the Manor, but that did not stop her from flying into the arms of the woman who had raised her. Thankfully, she had the good sense not to jump from where she was and instead, used the stairs, though with the speed that she used while going down the stairs, she might as well have flown.

Amelia and Susan exchanged greetings before Amelia shot Harry a look that made the Duke of Gryffindor cringe. He knew that the formidable Madam Bones would now be demanding an answer from him, but fortunately, Harry already had an answer ready.

"Why don't we talk about this in the dining room?" Harry suggested, while motioning toward the general direction of the named room. Amelia looked at Bode before she turned her attention back to the young man whom she realized had saved her niece and nodded.

A few moments later, both Amelia and Bode found themselves speechless. It was not only because of the sheer size of the dining room and the center piece of the dining room, where the dining table sat, but also because of who was already waiting for them inside.

Neither Amelia nor Bode recognized the man and woman who were seated near the head of the table, though if the greetings that they exchanged with the Duke of Gryffindor and his wife were to be of any indication, the two members of the Ministry for Magic of the United Kingdom would bet that the two were the Hermione's parents.

Amelia easily recognized Remus Lupin. A year's worth of letters praising the man for his teaching prowess had been the most memorable thing for Amelia about her niece's third year and Amelia had done her research about the man, in addition to having had a passing acquaintance with Remus when he was an auror trainee.

What really surprised Amelia, however, was the presence of Arthur Weasley. Having read the reports, she could not help but laugh when she realized that Fudge was right, Sirius Black had arranged for the kidnapping of their fellow member of the Grand Council.

With Arthur now with them, Amelia realized that they only needed Sirius and Amos to form the Council and declare whoever it was that attacked the Ministry to be traitors to the crown, though that hope was quickly dashed when Remus informed her that Sirius was in a meeting with the Muggle Prime Minister.

Of course, what really dashed her hopes was the fact that Amos was not only absent, quite possibly, the former head for the Department for Regulation for Magical Creatures was still coping with his loss. With a sad sigh, she closed her eyes and remembered the sorry state of Amos. He was a mess with the tears that were streaming down his face and had refused to even move from where he had sat himself. The healers worried that he might lose his mind and had been trying to help him when they were forced to leave him so that they could accompany the Duke of Gryffindor.

As Amelia had expected, the Duke took the seat at the head of the table. What was surprising, however, was that fact that the Duchess sat to the left of her husband at the head of the table. It was a strong statement that in this council, Hermione Potter was considered Harry Potter's equal.

"Lord Potter…" Amelia began, but quickly amended that to "Harry," when she remembered him asking her that she refer to him using his first name from now on. Harry turned toward her and she asked, "I seem to remember that Anton had taken the visage of your head of security during your trial, yet I do not see the man."

Amelia was not sure what was wrong with what she had said because the mood of those seated with her – save Arthur and Bode – turned somber. After a few moments, Harry turned his attention to the former Head of the Department for Magical Law Enforcement and said, "Madam Bones, Al York had given his life in his line of duty."

Amelia stared at Harry for a few moments with his mouth open, shocked about his loss. After a few moments, she closed her mouth and gave Harry a stiff nod before she apologized, "I apologize, Lord Potter, for the way that this tragedy came to light."

Harry smiled, though Amelia could tell that the smile did not quite reach his eyes, "He went exactly the way he wanted to go Madam Bones," he said. He sighed and then turned toward his wife and asked, "What did you find out?"

"The 'End Prophecy'," Hermione said, which resulted from a sharp gasp from Bode. Hermione turned toward the man and said, "I take it that you are aware of the prophecy?"

Bode nodded, "One of the greatest secrets of the Department of Mysteries was this so-called 'End Prophecy'," he explained to everyone since apparently, even Amelia was unaware of the prophecy, "It stated that when the last son of the Basilisk falls, the sword of Gryffindor would pierce the thin veil that covers our world," Bode looked at Harry and he nodded.

Harry understood, "Then I would have to prepare to pierce that veil then," he replied, when Amelia and Bode looked at him with confused expressions, Harry explained, "The last son of the Basilisk obviously refers to the last person that carries the blood of Salazar Slytherin, Tom Riddle, also known as, Voldemort," to their credit, neither Amelia nor Bode flinched.

"We thought so as well," Bode replied, "But why talk about piercing the veil now, you can only do it after Voldemort is dead."

"He is dead, Mr. Bode," Hector said in a low voice. Remus nodded and then took over, "Using non-magical technology augmented by magic, we used one of his followers to locate his hideout," Remus explained, "We then asked the Royal Air Force, the air arm of the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom, for assistance, and they were only much too happy to oblige."

"In other words, Madam Bones, Mr. Bode," Harry said, "Voldemort is dead, buried under a pile of rubble delivered by two non-magical jets; the last son of the Basilisk has fallen."

Amelia and Bode wanted to argue, but surprisingly, the objection came from neither of them. It came from the most unexpected person because she always agreed with Harry when they were in public, "I don't think that Voldemort is the final son of the Basilisk," she said. Harry and the others stared at her and she quickly added, "Irina was less than forthcoming but I think she knew who the person is."

"I see," Harry replied, seeing the look on the faces of Amelia and Bode, he quickly added, "I would not force her to reveal the secret, I am sure that it will be revealed in time, but for the time being, lay off of her, she has just lost Al, and I do not want to take advantage of that."

Both Amelia and Bode nodded, though it was clear that both wanted to continue arguing. A few moments later, Bode slammed his fist on the surface in front of him much to the surprise of everyone. After apologizing, he quickly explained, "Harry, remember that I told you that Dumbledore was always protecting Voldemort?" he asked, and Harry nodded as he shot his wife a look that promised her that he would explain everything later, "This is the answer!"

Harry paused for a few moments, and then he smiled and nodded. Unsurprisingly, however, it was Hermione – who still did not have the full picture – who responded, "He thinks Voldemort is the last son of the Basilisk," she said, "He does not want him to die because if he did, then the secret of the magical world would be out," she turned toward Harry and said, "Think about it love, first year…"

"The Philosopher's Stone," Harry said, and then he nodded, "Traps that three first years were able to defeat would not have been a hindrance to someone of his powers, even if he was just a wraith, the old man wanted Tom to have the stone."

"Same with the diary, love," Hermione said, "The wards of Hogwarts would have detected it and yet, he did nothing, he wanted Voldemort resurrected and he did not care even if one of his most loyal followers had to bite the dust."

"Ginevra Weasley," Harry said when he saw the questioning looks on the face of Amelia and Bode. Harry also noted the look of sadness on Arthur's face, but at this point in time, there was nothing that he could do to erase that look from his face. Irina was right, just as there is no magic that could compel a person to love someone, there is no magic that could compel a person to fall out of love for someone, especially, two parents.

"In our Third Year," Hermione continued, "He should have known that Sirius was innocent since he was there when the Fidelius was cast, but he did nothing, he wanted you weak so that Voldemort could easily kill you."

"Not really connected Hermione," Emma said

"Mrs. Granger I presume?" Bode asked, entering the conversation for the first time since it was moved to the dining hall. Emma nodded, and Bode continued, "I beg to differ, Madam, but having Harry weak was going to be a lot of help to Voldemort."

"The prophecy," Remus said, he looked at Harry and said, "It said that you are the only one who could defeat Voldemort, Dumbledore knew, so he couldn't have Voldemort die," he paused and then nodded, "It makes sense."

Harry and Hermione nodded, "With me dead, there would be no one who could bring an end to the bastard," Harry said just as Hermione hugged him, "Well, thankfully, the bastard is dead."

Amelia and Bode nodded, relieved that the Dark Lord was finally dead, they seemed to have forgotten about the 'End Prophecy', but they were forcibly reminded of this when Hermione opened her mouth once more, "The war between Harry and the old man would reveal our world," she suddenly said, she looked at Harry and said, "This war would reveal our world Harry."

Harry blinked and then nodded as he realized what his wife was saying. It all made sense now. Al had told Harry that Albus Dumbledore wanted control, and there was no way that the old man could take over the magical world without the non-magical world noticing. Too many national governments were connected with magical governments and those non-magical governments would squawk when their magical counterparts suddenly changed.

Worse yet, Harry realized, the Army that the old man was keeping would not be able to hide for long. Their relatively large size – at least fourteen thousand men according to an unconfirmed intelligence report – would not go unnoticed by the non-magical world. At the very least, they would be watched and that would not be good for anyone.

What was confusing, however, was that if Voldemort was not the last son of the Basilisk, then the magical world would not be revealed. If the last son of the Basilisk was still alive, then the sword would not pierce the veil. That meant, therefore, that the last son was fated to die sometime during the coming war or was already dead.

"It was a sure prophecy Harry," Bode said, correctly guessing the turmoil within the young lord that was reflected on his face. The former Unspeakable looked at Harry and asked, "I assume that you know what that means?"

Harry nodded, "A prophecy that will come to pass no matter how much you try to prevent it," he said, nodding towards the former Unspeakable.

Bode nodded, "Yes," he replied with an equal nod back to the Duke, "With the contention of Lady Hermione that Voldemort may not be the last son of the Basilisk, I do not know how it would come about, but I can be sure that the time would come when you or someone else would have to pierce the veil that covers the secret of our world."

There was absolute silence for a few moments as minds worked to bring thoughts. A few moments later, Harry breathed in and nodded before he turned to his wife and nodded once toward her. No words passed between the two, but they understood each other's thoughts far better than any other couple.

Harry accepted this responsibility even if he was not sure if the person being referred to was him.

"By the way," Amelia said a few moments later, "Why is Sirius meeting with the non-magical Prime Minister?"

Harry answered the question, "At first, it was so that he could inform the Prime Minister about what has happened and is happening and to request some assistance," he shrugged, "now, I need him there to inform the Prime Minister about what might happen if we really need to reveal the secret of our world."

Every single magical being in the room – with the exception of Harry and Hermione – cringed at the thought of the magical world being revealed. Far be it from non-magical people wanting magical solutions to their problems, the real reason that the magical world was hidden from the non-magical world was because there was no way that the two worlds could work with the full knowledge of the existence of the other.

Misunderstanding and misconception would reign should the magical world be revealed and everyone in the room was sure that such misunderstanding and misconception would breed fear among the people. Fear, in turn, would lead to hatred, and that would lead to war.

A war that would see the end of the world when one takes into account the power of the weapons that the non-magical world has.

In a strange sense, what Dumbledore was fighting for would actually make sense, but if it was the will of fate that the magical world be revealed, then there was nothing that could be done. Besides, the way Dumbledore was doing it would just see the old man acquire more power.

Unseen by anyone else, the Hermione's hand joined her husband's as the couple took comfort with each other's presence in the face of these trying times.

**10 Downing Street, London, England**

**United Kingdom**

Sirius was dressed as the quintessential banker or politician. A custom-tailored black double breasted suit with matching black pants and a red silk necktie made him blend in with the crowds that walked around London during these hours and it also helped him establish his identity as a member of the secret staff of the Royal Family when the SAS trained bodyguards attacked him.

When the head bodyguard saw Sirius's identification card, the man stammered as he apologized, but Sirius took it in good stride and an amused smile as he assured the man that everything was fine between them and that he would appreciate it if the bodyguards would escort him to the Prime Minister.

As it was not that late yet, the non-magical Prime Minister was still awake, though he looked as if he was already dressed for bed. Having heard, however, that Sirius Black, agent of Her Majesty, wanted to see him, he quickly made himself as presentable as possible given the time of the day and rushed to meet with Sirius.

They met at the conference room – typically used by the Prime Minister when he was in conference with his cabinet ministers – and after the pleasantries – minimal since both knew that this was an emergency meeting – got right to work.

"Sir," Sirius said in deference to the non-magical Prime Minister, "We have a problem."

**Aboard the HMS Asgard, A-Class submarine Potter Family**

**Underwater approach to the Black Lake**

Fred and George sighed with the rest of the forty eight member crew of their A-Class submarine as the eighty five meter boat maneuvered under water in response to the report from the observer that they had found the hole.

From their contacts within Durmstrang, the Potter Family Armed Group had identified the hole used by the ships during the tournament last year. High Command had then tasked the Asgard to carry a small team of thirty men to the Black Lake for a covert reconnaissance operation.

After three days of travelling from the British Indian Ocean Territory, they had finally reached their objective and no one aboard the submarine was happy about it. Though they had been assured that it was stable and that it was clear, clearly several, if not all, of the experienced seamen aboard the boat expected the passage to be booby trapped.

The situation did not improve thirty minutes later after they had crossed the passage. Although quite a few had to concede that the passage was not booby trapped, there were still several who maintained that it was, and that they were allowed entry because their enemies wanted them captured.

A few minutes before the clock struck eleven, there was a slight disturbance along the far coast of the Black Lake. Unseen by anyone, thirty men wearing form-fitting black wet suits climbed out of the submarine and onto dry ground before melting into the forest as their submarine dove to the bottom of the lake.

A nervous but determined Fred and George joined the twenty eight professionals who were only showing token nervousness. Neither Weasley brother was armed with a rifle or a sub-machinegun for this operation since they felt that neither of them knew how to use it.

Instead, they were given a sidearm each and were told to lug the equipment that High Command wanted placed on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. The magically shielded cameras and microphones would give High Command a better picture of the preparations of their enemy, but only if they could place them. With a signal, the leader of the detachment motioned for his men to move out, and in just a little over five seconds, the black suited men had disappeared.

Unfortunately for them, they were being watched.


End file.
